Kia ora e te whānau, 

This week we officially welcome some new students, families and returning families to Holy Cross School. Billie, Curtis, Daniel, Joshua, Lex, Luca, Kiari, Mikiyas. Nau mai haere mai ki te Rotokura! To your families, thank you for sharing your taonga or treasure with us. One of the protocols during a pōwhiri is that the manuhiri or visitors give a koha or gift to the Hau kāinga (Home people). This term you give us a gift that is more valuable than anything we could ever receive, your children. We promise to take care of and nurture your taonga as a group of students, teachers and community. 

Teacher Conferences / Mid year: Overall Teacher Judgements

Last week, we had teacher conferences with our students and families. We appreciated the time you took to attend these meetings (in the freezing cold!) and talk about the academic, social and wellbeing outcomes for your child. Here are our whole school results to date. 

Considerations of the data: 

• There are now more students at Holy Cross in 2024 We have seen a 17% increase in the overall number of students enrolled at our kura. 
• We have also had an increase in Ethnic group numbers too: That is Maori = +21%, Pasifika = +14%, Middle Eastern = +4%
• Not all students are given Overall Teacher Judgements (OTJ’s) for example; New entrant students. 
• Success for us is measured in how much a student improves and less on how much of the curriculum they know. 

• Definitions of Above, At, Below and Well Below: 
• At = Working at the working standard for your child’s year group. 
• Above the standard = more than a year above the working standard. 
• Below = a year or more below the working standard. 
• Well Below = 2 years or more below the working standard. 
• Teachers are normally more conservative with OTJ’s in the middle of the year. This means you will often see differences between the term 2 and term 4 report. 

Overall Data: 

• 72% of students “above” or “at” the standard
• 28% of students below or well below the standard. 

Reading: 

• 74% of students “above” or “at” the standard 
• The highest number of students achieving “above” are in reading. 

Writing: 

• 68% of students above or at the standard
• A significant increase in students “below” the standard and decrease in students “above” in writing. 

Maths: 

• 75% of students “above” or “at” the standard
• Almost 70% are “at” the standard. 
• These figures are similar to the 2023 end of year judgements 

This term we will be looking at the following data on an individual and class level to identify; 

• Academic and social trends we are seeing;
• How we can accelerate learning for our “below”and “well below” students; 
• How we can lift the level of sophistication in reading, writing and mathematics to lift our “at” students to “above”. 
• What interventions we can put in place to achieve better outcomes for all our students. 

We look forward to challenging our students to be better and do better by working hard in class. If you would like to talk more about how your child is doing please feel free to get in touch with the classroom teacher. 

Strategic Plan - What have we been working on?

Each board meeting, I present a little section on what we are working on with our strategic plan. The purpose of this is to show that we are working on the goals that we set and to show how we are progressing. Here is what I shared with the board. 

The Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus, Tuesday the 6th August 

In Matthew 17 we hear how Jesus took Peter, James, and John up onto Mount Tabor to pray. As these disciples watched in awe, Jesus transfigured (changed appearance). His face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Even more incredible, Jesus was joined by the long-dead Moses and Elijah.

The Transfiguration is a pivotal moment, and the setting on the mountain is presented as the point where human nature meets God: the meeting place for the temporal and the eternal, with Jesus acting as the bridge between heaven and earth.

On 8th August we celebrate St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. She was born in Melbourne in 1842 and moved to New Zealand in 1883. She founded theSisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (the Josephites), and established a number of schools and welfare institutions throughout Australia and New Zealand, with an emphasis on education for the rural poor.

Room 8 Prayers

On this winter's day, we are thankful for all the happy things in life: funny stories, music and words that inspire us. - Hope

On this winter’s day, we are thankful for glimmers of hope, acts of kindness that tell us we are not alone in our sorrow, in our suffering, in our uncertainty. - Connor

On this winter’s day we are warmed by the beauty of this place in which we live, by the company of family and friends, by our passion for justice and peace. - Solomon

On this winter’s day, we are thankful for the small things: the warmth of a smile or a hug, the glimpse of the sun through the clouds. - Nora

Room 8

For the first three weeks of this term, Room 8 have been learning about being fire wise. We have looked at all the different things that we need to be careful with, what different things are used for - e.g., fire extinguishers, torches, matches, smoke alarms, and also talked with our families about having ‘a plan’ incase of a fire. We have also been enjoying music lessons with Emily. We have been learning to play ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ on the glockenspiel. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon on the bikes in the sunshine. Of course, we are always busy doing our regular school work in the classroom! Enjoy our photos.

Room 7

We have been learning about magnets and magnetic force in room 7.

Aria, Isabel, Olani: Magnets work through glass and water. North and North can repel and get pushed apart and South and South repel too. North and South attract each other and get pulled together.

Hana, Tessa, Jacob, Serah: 

Magnets can attract each other when the North and South poles get together. Strong magnets can pick up more paper clips. The stronger the magnet the more paper clips it can hold up. The magnetic wand picked up 100 paper clips.

Antoine, Cody, Hendrix, George: 

Magnets are used in rollercoasters to keep the magnetic cart on the metal tracks. Electromagnets are used to move carts and trains very fast without friction. Magnetic force can be used in magical tricks.

Ocean, Rosa, Cattleya, Dreius, LianLian: 

Some magnets are strong enough to move metal objects through cardboard and plastic. There are different shapes of magnets such as horseshoe magnets, bar magnets, wand magnets and fridge magnets.

Room 11

Each morning we begin our day with a time of free play.  We feel so lucky to have a beautiful space that our growing class can spread out in.  This is a good opportunity for us to notice and support learning around the key competencies that the National Curriculum identifies as thinking, relating to others, using language, symbols and texts, managing self and participating and contributing.

We have been learning all about recycling, upcycling and using recyclable materials for art.  In week one we set up our own recycling plant and sorted all the materials.  An interesting part of this was finding out what could not be recycled and would go to landfill.   

This week we have been looking at ways that we can use recycled materials to make art.  On Wednesday we made our own models.

‘I am making a tower.  I am using cardboard and a plastic lid.  I am going to use sellotape to stick the lid onto my tower.’ Jerome

‘I am making a cat.  I am using string as a lead and I am going to use crayon to draw the coller.  I am going to use cardboard for the ears and pink crayon for the inside of the ears. I just need some sellotape to create a loop.’ Billie

This week has been particularly sticky as,           
well as using lots of glue and tape,          we also made jam sandwiches.  We cut them up into halves and then quarters to help us learn about fractions.

Love from Room 11

Holy Cross Lightning at Eastern Zone Netball 

Yesterday we went to Eastern Zone Netball at Akau Tangi. Our team was Millie, Angelia Allexia, Eva, Terrissa, Anna, Moana, and our team coach was Tala.

In our first game against Scots, we did not have a half time, so we played the full 20 minutes and the score was 8 - 1 to us. After that we played St Anthony's. It was a hard game at times, like when we were only up by 2 goals, but anyway we won 12 - 8. We next had Worser Bay. It was quite an easy game and the score was 10 - 0 to us. Last, but not least, we played Kilbirnie School. Their players were kinda short and the score was 15 - 5.

We had a great day. The best part was cheering for the Year 7 and 8 teams.

Holy Cross Thunder continued their success at the Eastern Zones. The team played really well with 5 wins from 5 games played, with some being quite close.

Game One:- Holy Cross Thunder vs St Anthony's

Winners - HC Thunder 6-2

Game Two:- Holy Cross Thunder vs TKK Okoro

Winners - HC Thunder 5-2

Game Three:- Holy Cross Thunder vs Lyall Bay

Winners - HC Thunder 4-1

Game Four:- Holy Cross Thunder vs Miramar Central

Winners - HC Thunder 17-0

Game Five:- Holy Cross Thunder vs Miramar North

Winners - HC Thunder 3-1

Netball

Holy Cross Thunder player of the day award for this past weekend (Saturday, 3 August 2024) was granted to Anira Durkin for her outstanding defence and numerous intercepts throughout the game.

Basketball

A good effort by the girls last week. We lost 11-9 in a tight game against Seatoun.

We will be better for it next week! Keep up the hard work team green!

Kia ora everyone,

Exciting news! Together with Tokomanawa Queens and Up Foundation, we're launching Girls Got Game—a free basketball programme for girls in Years 3 to 8. It's a fantastic opportunity for your daughters to try basketball, make new friends, and have a ton of fun.

Programme Details

Who: Girls in Years 3 to 8

When: Every Friday from 2 Aug to 20 Sep

Time: 3.45pm to 4.45pm

Where: Ākau Tangi Sports Centre

Cost: FREE

Meet Our Coaches

Tania Tupu - Tokomanawa Queens Head Coach, Tall Fern, and Two-Time Olympian

Grace Hunter - Tokomanawa Queens Player and Tall Fern

Alana Paewai - Tokomanawa Queens Player

Tania, Grace and Alana are ready to help your daughters improve their basketball skills, grow their confidence, and appreciate the value of teamwork.

Ready to have some fun? Register Now to secure a spot for your daughter.

We can't wait to see them shine on the court!

Best regards,

Hemi